IN THE HOME STRETCH — Head coach Reno Saccoccia has guided the Big Red football team back into playoff position, and they have another big game Friday at Harding Stadium looking to stay there when they host Canisius (N.Y.). - Andrew Grimm

STEUBENVILLE — Big Red had a big challenge from the north last week in Pennsylvania’s Farrell Steelers. This week’s challenge comes from even further to the north.

Steubenville and head coach Reno Saccoccia will welcome Canisius out of the Buffalo, New York area to Harding Stadium on Friday night.

The Crusaders are 3-2 and coming off of back-to-back victories. They are making their third trip to the Buckeye State this year as their two losses are to Ironton and Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit.

“They’re even better,” Saccoccia said of comparing Canisius to Farrell. “They’ve got one of the top ten tailbacks in the nation. Their line averages 290 pounds. They’re a very, very good football team. It’s going to be a monumental effort for us, but I think our kids can give that type of effort.”

That tailback is junior Elijah Kimble, who has 811 yards and 11 touchdowns through the first five games of Canisius’ season. He averages 9.7 yards per carry and 162 yards per game, and has a big play ability with a season long rush of 84 yards. He’s also caught four passes for another 76 yards.

Kimble is a US Army All-American and ranked the top junior player in the state of New York. He is already Canisius’ all-time leading rusher with a season and a half to go.

He is just the latest of a string of good backs Big Red has had to prepare for this season, a list that included Indian Valley’s Grady Kinsey, an Air Force recruit and Mr. Football Award finalist.

“We’ve faced some really good running back this year,” Saccoccia said. “Some years we face a lot of great quarterbacks, and this year we’ve faced good quarterbacks, but we’re going against some great tailbacks, and good defenses.”

The Crusaders also have a senior quarterback in Matteo Brusco, who has completed just under 50 percent of his passes for 575 yards and a pair of scores.

Amir Hernandez, a senior, also gets carries for Canisius, as he averages 7.9 per carry and has scored six touchdowns.

Canisius averages 32.6 points per game and allows an average of 31.2.

Big Red, meanwhile, is coming off a fourth-straight win, and has scored 40 or more points in all four victories.

Steubenville wore down Farrell in the second half last week with a strong run game.

“We didn’t start out very good Friday, but it wasn’t because we weren’t doing what we should do. It was just that the team we were going against was good also,” Saccoccia said. “You have just got to keep pounding away, and that’s what we did. We just kept pounding away and kept playing good defense. The offense didn’t turn the ball over, and we just stuck with the game plan and were able to pull it out in the fourth quarter.”

That formula has been a successful one over the years and looks to continue to be during the playoff push.

“That has been the formula so far, keep playing for four quarters,” Saccoccia said. “It’s going to be another four-quarter game on Friday night. Our players know what to look forward to Friday. Like I told the seniors, they only have so many practice days left in the regular season. If they can make those days count, then they can go on beyond the regular season.”

Big Red has jumped into the ninth spot in the Division III, Region 11 standings. This season, the top 12 make the playoffs, the top four getting a bye week and the top eight getting at least one home game.

The opening kick Friday night is set an hour earlier than usual. The game has a 6 p.m. start time.